Wednesday, January 30, 2013

SJC Upholds Gun Storage Law

In Comm. v. McGowan, decided yesterday, the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state's gun storage law, MGL c.140, § 131L(a) does not violate the Second Amendment. The court said, in part:

"We hold that, because § 131L is consistent with the right to bear arms in self-defense in one's home and is designed to prevent those who are not licensed to possess or carry firearms from gaining access to firearms, it falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment. As a result, it is subject only to rational basis analysis, which it easily survives. Therefore, we conclude that § 131L (a ) is constitutional under the Supreme Court's holdings and analysis in Heller and McDonald, and that Massachusetts may enforce § 131L (a ) to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens."